How 802.11ac Technology is Making Our Lives Better

iPhone 6 and 6 Plus consumers might be raving about the new thin, big screen and better display, but we’re raving about something completely internal: speed.

The new iPhones are the first Apple handsets to ship with 802.11ac Wi-Fi, making it twice as fast as the iPhone 5s. Why should you care? Well, besides a faster functioning phone, your iPhone 6 Plus uses less data when surfing on your mobile device, and gives you a smoother web-surfing, video loading experience.

The bad news is, there is a catch. Wi-Fi needs to be caught up with your phone’s fast technology; so it has to be fast, too. You won’t see faster connection benefits without a new, upgraded router.

The good news? That is what we’re here for.

What you want in order to fully keep up with the technology movement might not be as exciting as the fancy screen of your new phone, but it’s almost more important if you want a faster, more seamless connection.

802.11ac technology is the new hype in the technology world. Healthcare, Education and IT communities have been upgrading to the 802.11ac and loving it. It takes on the features of 802.11n and builds upon them, resulting in 3 times the speed and increasing channel widths. This new technology has been dramatically benefitting large corporations, schools, and hospitals.

So Why Upgrade?

1. Deploying HD Video over Wi-Fi

K-12 schools can better promote more seamless, active learning spaces and collaborations. You can display HD video with less streaming issues and hiccups.

Any space where you will utilize Apple TV/Bonjour gateways, 802.11ac is more reasonable and effective.

3. High client-dense Wi-Fi environments

Large conferences put on by businesses

Large public venues such as stadiums, outdoor shopping areas and airports

Public common areas in education spaces, as well as large learning halls where a greater number of students and devices will be utilized

4. Additional opportunities

802.11ac will deliver better RF management and traffic prioritization as well as better prepare for future upgrades and features.

If your organization is looking to roll out a larger scale Microsoft Lync, VDI, mobile CRM or other application over Wi-Fi, the increased performance and reliability of the new technology is vitally essential.

When should you upgrade?

According to Securedge networks, you should upgrade when:

1. You’re currently maxing out your capacity:More bandwidth can be distributed with the new technology, giving you 90-100 clients on an Access Point instead of around 40.

2. You want more speed: The faster the speed the more bandwidth for every client on the network. The faster the first client requesting data is helped, the faster the second client can then be assisted. With the 802.11ac technology you can receive 3x the speed of the 802.11n technology.

3. Range is an issue with connectivity:At the same distance of connection as the 802.11n, the 802.11ac range provides better throughput. Meaning you get double the data rates with 802.11ac. The 802.11ac does not provide longer distances in connectivity, but it is much faster and more efficient with data.

802.11ac and 802.11n technologies can be mixed without negative impacts. This means that you don’t have to commit to a full upgrade, but you can upgrade bits and pieces of your network and it will still collaborate with the old technology.

The Future in TechnologyRegardless of whether or not you got the recent phone upgrade, we all know that everyone upgrades eventually. That’s just the way technology works in our world. On the networking side of things, 802.11ac technology is the direction being taken. It improves connection speeds up to 3x, and has new features that can better the business; and better yet, it collaborates when you do take the plunge with a new and improved phone. Although phone upgrades might be more fun, improving your network technology is necessary to get what you, your clients and students want.